Applied Energy 171 (2016) 103–112

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Applied Energy

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Performance analysis of a solar photovoltaic hybrid system for electricity generation and simultaneous water disinfection of wild bacteria strains ⇑ N. Pichel a, , M. Vivar a, M. Fuentes a,b a IMDEA Water, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain b Grupo IDEA Universidad de Jaén, Jaén 23071, Spain highlights graphical abstract

 A new hybrid solar water disinfection and energy generation system was designed and tested.  SOLWAT comprises a water disinfection reactor and a PV module fully integrated into a single unit.  Natural water with wild strains of E. coli, Enterococcus spp. and C. perfringens were studied.  The water disinfection reactor located above the PV module did not affect the final energy output.  The SOLWAT disinfection results were always higher than conventional PET bottles. article info abstract

Article history: A hybrid solar water disinfection and energy generation system for meeting the needs of safe drinking Received 13 January 2016 water and electricity was designed and tested in Alcalá de Henares (Spain) under summer climatic con- Received in revised form 29 February 2016 ditions to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. Natural water sources with wild strains of Accepted 15 March 2016 Escherichia coli, total coliforms, Enterococcus spp. and Clostridium perfringens (including spores) were studied. Results showed that SOLWAT disinfection efficiency was higher than conventional PET bottles and that the water disinfection reactor located above the PV module did not affect the total energy output Keywords: produced by the hybrid system in comparison to the single PV module, achieving the same power losses SOLWAT over the 6 h of sun exposure in relation to their power at standard test conditions (STC). Solar disinfection Ó PV module 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Hybrid Photovoltaic Wild strains

1. Introduction each year [1]; and 1.1 billion people still do not have access to elec- tricity [2]. In an effort to develop new technologies that contribute The lack of access to safe drinking water and energy is one of to palliate this situation, a solar water disinfection system com- the main challenges of the 21st century. Globally, at least 1.8 bil- bined with photovoltaic (PV) technology [3] has been proposed lion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces, as one of the most appropriate technologies for integrating water which is the cause of more than half-million diarrhoeal deaths purification and energy generation functions in a single device that is simple, cost-effective and easy to operate and maintain. ⇑ Hybrid devices combining photovoltaic energy and different Corresponding author. water applications have been previously investigated as a solution E-mail address: [email protected] (N. Pichel). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.03.050 0306-2619/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 104 N. Pichel et al. / Applied Energy 171 (2016) 103–112 to reduce the energy demand of water treatment systems [4,5] and and electricity. However, this technology has not been used yet also as a promising option to increase the total efficiency of PV sys- for water microbial disinfection applications and this study consti- tems by reducing the solar cell operating temperature or by com- tutes the first SOLWAT utilization for microbial inactivation bining thermal and photovoltaic production [6,7], the so-called purposes. photovoltaic-thermal hybrid systems (PVT). The SOLWAT system would be especially suitable in developing PVT systems consist of a hybridisation of photovoltaic and solar countries where access to safe drinking water and electricity is thermal systems which produce both electricity and heat for hot limited or not available. Most of these countries are located within water domestic applications from one integrated component [8], a large area called ‘sun belt’ zone, which covers the majority of the and were developed to diversify and decarbonise the energy sup- population in need of clean drinking water and electricity and ply, lowering the reliance on fossil fuels. More recently, Herrando where irradiance conditions are more favourable for the use of this et al. [9] and Herrando and Markides [10] studied the feasibility technology, which could be also applied for treating wastewater of this system for the provision on electricity and hot water at from industrial effluents and in emergency situations at commu- household levels in UK, while Romero-Rodrígez et al. [11] devel- nity levels. oped a study assessing the performance of several designs of this The aim of this paper is to assess the performance of a new SOL- technology in Spain. WAT system design under real operation conditions using natural Another type of hybrid system combining photovoltaics and water sources, evaluating both the water disinfection efficiency water applications based on photochemistry was developed by and power output generation. Zamfirescu and Dincer [12]. It consisted of a solar energy system Results from the comparison between SOLWAT (new hybrid for hydrogen and sulphur production from sulphurous water speci- device that integrates a water disinfection reactor and a PV mod- fic to chemical and petrochemical industries, where high energy ule) and two independent systems, (single water reactor and single spectrum (<500 nm) was used to generate hydrogen from water PV module, not coupled) are also discussed, analysing for the case photolysis, and the middle spectrum (500–800 nm) and the long of the SOLWAT system: (a) the possible influence of the PV module wave spectrum (>800 nm) were used to generate electricity from in the solar disinfection process by affecting the water tempera- photovoltaic which was also used to generate additional hydrogen ture, and (b) the possible influence of water purification reactor by electrolysis. Huang et al. [13] reported a photochemical- in the solar energy generation by affecting the radiation received photovoltaic hybrid device that generates hydrogen and oxygen and the module temperature. The water disinfection results are from water in sulphuric acid solution by electrolysis using the elec- also compared with PET bottles, which are currently the traditional tricity generated from PV cells, and Oruc et al. [14] also proposed a and most widespread form of SODIS containers. photovoltaic system that integrates a PV module with an elec- trolyzer, referred to as a photovoltaic thermal water electrolyzer 2. Design, materials and manufacturing (PTVE), where the electrolyte reduced the PV module temperature increasing the electrical efficiency and the heat absorbed by he 2.1. Design electrolyte was used to enhance the electrolytic process leading to more efficient production of hydrogen. A new SOLWAT system was designed to combine the functions The previous hybrid photochemical/thermal/photovoltaic sys- of solar water purification and renewable electricity generation in tems are focused on extracting some elements (hydrogen, sulphur a single and compact device, with the final objective of improving or oxygen) from water using solar energy (PV-photochemical) or solar spectrum utilization and minimising space requirements. A on producing electricity and hot water simultaneously (PV- planar system consisting of two sub-modules was used. The two thermal), but water was not subjected under any treatment with sub-modules were assembled together, one above the other, where the objective to produce safe drinking water. the photovoltaic module serves as the base of the water purifica- On the other hand, hybrid devices that integrate photocatalysis tion reactor, which is transparent to visible and near infrared com- reactors and photovoltaic modules have been recently investigated ponent of solar light. Water disinfection occurs between the glass for the field of water purification. Vivar et al. [3] developed a cover of the water purification sub-module and the PV module physicochemical water treatment combining a water purification (Fig. 1a). reactor and PV technology, which was after tested at lab-scale con- A reference system set was also designed with the objective of ditions [15–18]. However, microbiological water disinfection was comparing the SOLWAT water purification performance and elec- not tested using this system, either using other types of hybrid tricity generation output in relation to an uncoupled system where devices that combine PV energy generation and water disinfection. the PV module and the water purification reactor were indepen- The hybrid solar water purification and photovoltaic system dent units. The water disinfection module was the same size and (SOLWAT) comprises two devices, a water disinfection reactor of identical structural characteristics as the SOLWAT water purifi- and a PV module, fully integrated into a single unit which uses cation sub-module but with the PV module replaced by two the solar spectrum more efficiently (Fig. 1), combining the germi- borosilicate glasses with a black sheet between both glasses. The cidal effects of UV light and the thermal pasteurization effects of single photovoltaic module was of the same PV technology as the far infrared light for bacterial disinfection purposes; and the visible SOLWAT but with different dimensions (Fig. 1b). and near infrared light for solar photovoltaic electricity generation. The benefits provided also include the no dependence on electrical energy or chemical components, the use and generation of renew- 2.2. Materials and manufacturing able energy and no residues generation, plus the compact and long lasting system characteristics with a simple and low cost design. CIGS (Copper–Indium–Galium–Selenide Sulphide) photovoltaic This concept was previously used for water treatment applica- modules (Würth Solar, Germany) consisting of multi-layered CIGS tions, specifically for photocatalytic degradation (with suspended solar cells connected in series were used. Their costs are lower than

TiO2 as photocatalyst) of organic dyes (Methylene Blue, Acid Red other PV modules technologies and their black surface could 26 and 4-Chlorophenol) as water pollutant. It was analysed in enhance the solar disinfection process by increasing the water terms of dye decolourisation and photovoltaic output generation temperature. Two different module dimensions were used, [15–18] showing that both photocatalytic and photovoltaic tech- 405 Â 605 mm for the SOLWAT receiver (0.20 m2 cell area) and nologies could work simultaneously producing purified water 605 Â 1205 mm for the reference system (0.65 m2 cell area) as an Download English Version: https://daneshyari.com/en/article/6683260

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